Most people think that Hawaii is a paradise with golden beaches, crystal clear waters and dense rainforests in the center of the islands. This idea of paradise is so engrained in people that most of […]
Category Archives: Natural History
Fall Colors in Europe and North America
Autumn is a beautiful time of year in most regions of Earth, especially in Europe and North America. Before nature settling down into winter’s monochcrome quiet, autumnal leaf color change transforms the entire landscape into […]
Pollinators of the ie ie vine in Hawaii
The ie ie (Freycinetia arborea) is a woody climber plant, that is endemic to the Pacific Islands. I first met this plant a few weeks ago, when I hiked the Aiea Trail in the Koolau […]
Cover Story in Madártávlat Magazine: Laysan Albatrosses
My picture of the Laysan Albatross covers the summer issue of Madártávlat magazine. Madártávlat (Bird’s Eye View) is a Hungarian birding magazine published by the Hungarian Ornithological and Nature Conservation Society (MME). I also have […]
Hawaiian Honeycreepers – Oahu Amakihi
Several million years ago a single finch species arrived to the Hawaiian Islands and one of the most amazing stories in the natural world has begun. The ancestral bird diverged into more than 50 different […]
Jackson’s Chameleon in the Koolau Mountains – Hawaii
Hawaii has no native herpetofauna other than marine turtles, but there are many introduced reptiles that have established breeding populations on the islands. The problem with these nonnative animals is that Hawaii’s native species have […]
Same-sex pairing in Laysan Albatross in Hawaii
Same-sex couples are common in the wild. Today, more than 1000 animal species are known to practice various forms of same-sex behavior. These relationships, of course cannot directly produce offsprings so this behavior is often […]
Young Hawaiian Monk Seal at Kaena Point – Hawaii
When I go to Kaena Point (Oahu, Hawaii) for working with the Laysan Albatross, like I did last week, I cannot resist visiting the favorite resting place of the Hawaiian Monk Seal. I love this […]
Eastern Chipmunk in North America
Small rodents are one of my favorite animals. I was lucky to research a very interesting species in Hungary during my university studies and I wrote my MSc thesis about the unique mound building behavior […]
New Article in Természetbúvár Magazine: Kaena Point, Hawaii
My article about the natural history of Kaena Point has been published in the latest issue of TermészetBÚVÁR magazine. TermészetBÚVÁR (means Naturalist) is one of the most popular ecological magazines in Hungary. This popular science […]
Kaena Point Natural Area Reserve – Hawaii
Kaena Point is my favorite place on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. It is the refuge of many rare animals, such as the Laysan Albatross, the Hawaiian Noddy and the Hawaiian Monk Seal. I’ve […]
Climate change leads to changes in the migration patterns of birds
Over the last decades, the global climate has been changing faster than ever before. Not surprisingly, the changes in climate may lead to changes in species. For instance, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) responses to […]
The White Stork as a seed-spreading bird in Europe
The White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) builds one of the largest nests in the bird world. These huge nests are often used as nesting places by other birds or even small rodents. These kind of organisms […]
Humans responsible for most whale deaths in the Atlantic Ocean
The Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) population in the Atlantic Ocean were seriously decreased as a result of intense hunting during the 19th and the early 20th centuries. In 1946, the International Whaling Commission banned commercial […]
The mound building behavior of the Steppe Mouse in Hungary
The steppe mouse or mound-builder mouse (Mus spicilegus) is an endemic species to South-East Europe and it is a widespread rodent in Hungary. Its Hungarian name is güzüegér. The steppe mouse occupies in various grassland […]
In Memory of János Balogh
János Balogh was born 100 years ago today. He was a Hungarian ecologist who led numerous expeditions around the world, and for me, he was one of the reasons I became a biologist. When I […]
European Bee-eater – Bird of the Year in Hungary
The bird of the year has been elected each year in Hungary since 1979 by the Hungarian Ornithological Society. In 2013, the European Bee-eater (Merops apiaster) has won this title. The European Bee-eater is a […]
Laysan Albatross at Kaena Point – Hawaii
I moved to Hawaii in 2012. In November, I started a project of studying and documenting the breeding life of the Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) at Kaena Point (on the island of Oahu). The Laysan […]